Kingdom Hearts III - The Second Keyblade War
by Zan Kired
Summary: After Kingdom Hearts 3D-Dream Drop Distance, Sora, Riku and their friends prepare to go to war against Xehanort while Mickey and Yen Sid gather their Guardians of Light for war. Kairi and Lea train to become wielders of the Keyblade while Riku might once again drift over to the power of darkness in his confusion about his new role as a Keyblade Master, a title Sora desires as well.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone. This is my first Kingdom Hearts story. This takes place right after the event of Kingdom Hearts 3D - Dream Drop Distance.**

 **I, as many others, am looking forward to the release of Kingdom Hearts III. Because of this, I decided to make a story about what could happen. I don't know what the story is going to be, but I decided to make my own. I hope you enjoy the first chapter. Make sure to review if you did and if you have any advice or suggestions.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

After defeating Xemnas in The World That Never Was, Sora and Riku were brought to Yen Sid to undergo the Mark of Mastery exam to test their worth of becoming Keyblade Masters. They were pitted against a young version of Xehanort, who sought out thirteen Seekers of Darkness to combat against the seven Guardians of Light in an attempt to recreate the X-Blade, the most powerful Keyblade ever. He sent into a coma in Ventus, forcing Riku to brave a battle against young Xehanort to reawaken Sora. Riku succeeded and thus was deemed a Keyblade Master. Sora, meanwhile, travelled back to Traverse Town to make sure some special friends of his were okay…

* * *

Sora searched around the empty city. There was something that felt empty inside him, but he couldn't quite place it. Was he hungry? Tired? No way, he thought. He had just woken up from the deepest slumber.

Maybe that was it. He was probably just drowsy from waking up.

Then again, he thought, there was something deeper than simple lethargy. He still couldn't figure out what it is.

… what was it? … where? … why? …

Suddenly, "*squeak!*".

Sora heard the distinct sound and recognized it almost instantly. He turned and saw his friend bound toward him in clear excitement.

Sora instantly smiled as more of his helpful companions, the Dream Eaters, leaped toward him in ecstatic joy. He embraced every single one of them in relief and appreciation.

"Thanks. You're the best!"

* * *

Riku stood outside Yen Sid's tower. He had been sent out by Yen Sid while Sora was gone to bring his wise master a "guest." Yen Sid had given almost no details as to why, but Riku figured he would find out soon enough. Donald, Goofy, and Mickey had long since headed back inside to finish their tea party, which they had started just as Sora had woken up.

The silver-haired teen was starting to grow weary himself, wishing Sora would just return. Where was he, anyway?

However, was Riku bored. "Ha! As if," he thought to himself.

The newly-appointed Keyblade Master had a lot to think about during his "errand" of sorts for Yen Sid. All sorts of questions swirled around in his mind, as random and scattered as snowflaked in a blizzard spell. Well, certainly not random. The boy's thoughts definitely all connected back to his new title of Master.

Riku knew he was nowhere near as experienced with the selective weapon as King Mickey, or even Sora, for that matter. Sora had over two years of combat under his belt, while Riku was in hiding. He certainly hadn't had the time to practice dueling while Sora was asleep, getting his memory put back together. He had spent all that time trying to suppress the darkness that had plagued him ever since he stepped into that door, way back on that one fateful day on Destiny Islands.

But did that matter? That he wasn't as experienced? Neither him nor Sora had even received much formal training. They both had had to go straight into battle many times with their blades, relying only on what they already knew and their hearts and minds to defeat their enemies, and both of them had survived against a number of dark foes. They were certainly skilled.

Riku shook his head, trying to shake these feelings. He and Sora had performed admirably, Yen Sid had told them. They didn't do so because of technical ability. They did it because of bravery and courage.

Riku figured he could talk to someone about this soon enough. For now, though, he had to find the one Yen Sid requested.

* * *

King Mickey stood in almost comically small stature compared to Yen Sid, who towered over the tiny mouse even when sitting down. It was rather amusing to imagine that he was a master of a weapon as powerful as the Keyblade. Of course, all those who fought against or alongside the King knew of his power. It was still somewhat amusing. However, his and Yen Sid's conversation certainly proved them both to be equal at least in intellect as they lamented Xehanort's return, the possible imminent destruction, and the concept of the X-Blade.

"The Keyblade wars of yore plunged the true Kingdom Hearts into darkness, and the X-Blade was shattered," Yen Sid explained. "But the light still shining in the hearts of children rebuilt the world we know today."

The King contemplated all this in deep thought.

"And the light from the broken X-Blade was then divided into seven, to protect the number of pure hearts in the world," Yen Sid continued.

Mickey thought about all of this: "Seven pure lights… They're the Princesses of Heart!"

Yen Sid nodded. "Indeed. Those seven pure hearts from the very source of all light in the world."

Alice, Belle, Aurora, Cinderella, Jasmine, Snow White… and Kairi.

Sora had managed to rescue all of them some time ago, returning to them all of their hearts, before Kairi's light managed to save him from becoming a heartless permanently. True bravery, the King thought.

"If they are lost, the world will again give way to shadow." Yen Sid definitely sounded concerned about the probable conflict. "Thus, even if we deliberately avoid finding our seven lights to avoid another Keyblade War, Xehanort will still target the seven Princesses in order to forge the X-Blade."

Mickey felt grim and worried, "So there's gonna be a clash between seven lights and thirteen darknesses.." he sounded fascinated, but at the same time, slightly gloomy and grim. "And there's nothing we can do to avoid triggering the Keyblade War?"

Yen Sid sat in total silence for a moment with his eyes closed. It was only a few seconds, but to the King, it felt like an eternity.

Yen Sid opened his eyes and spoke with total clarity, "To protect the seven pure hearts, we will need seven lights strong enough to stand against the thirteen darknesses."

The King knew their seven would need to be powerful and faithful to the light to have a good chance in their battle. He counted to remember who they had so far: himself, Sora, Riku, Aqua, Ventus, and most recently, Lea. But that was only six. They needed another.

"So we're missing one guardian of light…" Mickey said.

Before he could continue, let alone try to figure out who their seventh could be, the King heard the door open and almost instantly shut behind him. The tiny mouse turned around and exclaimed in joy and surprise, "Riku! You're back."

The young man addressed Mickey for only a second. "That's right." He turned and addressed his wise master. "Master Yen Sid, I brought you the 'guest you asked for, but you never said why."

Mickey was astonished when he saw the identity of this aforementioned "guest. Yen Sid, meanwhile, seemed pleased as he said, "I have come to learn that you, too, can wield a Keyblade. I am glad you are here."

Kairi stood before him, in clear confidence and fascination, quickly figuring out why she was brought to this tower.

* * *

Sora was on his way back to the tower, calmly strolling along. He had certainly had a good time reuniting with the Dream Eaters, and felt much better knowing they were all safe in Traverse Town, but his feelings still had not left him. It was something complicated, he knew that much.

He had only felt like this once before, and that was when Phil at the Olympus Coliseum had proclaimed him only a junior hero instead of a full hero after his defeat of Cerberus in the Games. But why was that so bad, anyway?

Sora thought back to how he had protested against not being a full-fledged hero.

*** "You rookies still don't understand what it takes to be a true hero," Phil had lectured Sora many times about not understanding "what it takes." ***

… What does it take? …

Sora felt exactly the same now, once again being denied a title he strived for such a long time to attain. And once again, he was told he was missing something. He thought about this for a bit, trying to reach some sort of answer. The spiky-haired boy always sought answers.

Longing. That was what Sora was feeling. Longing for the full title- the full power- the full proof that he was worthy. But was he?

Sora walked a little bit easier after he figured this out. He hadn't reached any full conclusions, but at least he had some idea of what the issue was. He strode on to the tower, not wanting to keep Riku and the others waiting…

* * *

 **And that concludes my first chapter to this story. Once again, I hope you enjoyed and hope that you will review with your thoughts and suggestions. Stay tuned for the next chapter soon. Have a nice day!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi everyone. Here is Chapter Two of The Keyblade Wars. This one establishes the story arcs for most of the main protagonists a little more. I try to keep everyone mostly** **in character, but they might change just a little bit in later chapters. I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

Sora stood in fighting position, with his Keyblade in hand, with Heartless surrounding him.

He had gone back to Yen Sid's tower for barely a minute before heading back out again. The young boy had stood in front of the tower, contemplating his probing thoughts. They simply kept bugging him, making him wonder if he should be a Keyblade master, would he have been if the test had gone properly, all sorts of questions that just wouldn't go away.

Sora knew just how badly he wanted to be a Master, how much he desired to know complete control over his Keyblade and what it meant to him and to the upcoming war.

But just how far did he have to go?

After thinking about this for a while as he stood in front of the tower, Sora decided on what he wanted to do. He then turned around and headed to the railroad tracks that led to seemingly nowhere.

And just in time too. The somewhat familiar "ghost" train had just arrived.

Sora knew this train. After waking up in Twilight Town with his memory repaired, he had taken this train to this tower to meet Yen Sid.

Sora took a breath before climbing on top of the empty locomotive…

Which is how he wound up in the middle of the shade covered forest of Twilight Town, surrounded by Heartless.

One of them pounced at him, but Sora immediately turned and sliced through the dark creature as easily as though it were butter.

Another one barrelled down from the air, but Sora easily slashed through this one as well.

In less than a minute, the creatures were all gone. The Keyblade wielder dismissed his weapon. He barely needed any time at all to catch his breath.

Sora's resolve was fixed. He was going to go out every day to a new place to train hard as possible, have Yen Sid put him through the Mark of Mastery exam once again, and be deemed a true Master as well.

Sora knew he desired the title. He knew it. And he was going to earn it.

He thought about all of this as he strode to the old mansion. A new batch of Heartless appeared, and Sora summoned his blade again, sure to make quick work of them…

* * *

Kairi sat in front of the table of Yen Sid, who was explaining why she was here. She had been listening to Yen Sid explain the first Keyblade War, and the rising of Xehanort. She took it all in in deep thought and consideration.

Donald and Goofy were outside, waiting for Sora, who still hadn't returned. Kairi didn't even know that Sora was here.

Mickey stood silent next to Riku against the wall, listening to Yen Sid talk, before speaking up.

"Kairi," he asked, "How did you gain the power of the Keyblade?"

Kairi thought for a moment, before answering, "At the Organization's castle, when I met up with Riku, he gave me one. I used it to fight off the Heartless there."

Mickey nodded thoughtfully, but then spoke again. "But only those who have gone through the Inheritance Ceremony can use one. That's how I received my Keyblade from Yen Sid," he explained.

Kairi seemed a bit confused, but Mickey continued, "Did you, by any chance, receive your ability from anyone?"

Kairi pondered this for a moment. She certainly didn't remember any ceremony with anyone.

Mickey said, "It can be easily done by touching a person's Keyblade and letting it decide."

Yen Sid nodded in agreement. "The Keyblade is a very powerful weapon. It does have the ability to choose whether or not a person is worthy."

Kairi shook her head. "Well, if that happened, I don't remember it."

Yen Sid seemed slightly disappointed, but continued. "Nevertheless," he said, "You are here as our seventh and final Guardian of Light to fight in the next Keyblade War."

"Who else is there? I know there's you, Sora, and Riku, but who are the others?"

Mickey answered, "Well, there's Lea over there."

Lea smiled. "Hello!"

Kairi turned, and raised her eyebrows in surprise at the sight of the red-haired man, clad in a black coat. She had barely, if at all even, noticed him. Ever since she had come in, he had been completely silent. Nevertheless, Kairi recognized him instantly, and was not happy to see him.

"You!" She yelled. "You kidnapped me!"

She summoned her Keyblade and ran toward him. However, Lea reacted quickly and summoned his own, blocking Kairi from striking him to the ground.

Kairi jumped back, blade at the ready, but Yen Sid instantly yelled, "Stop!" Not loudly, but firmly.

Kairi paused for a moment, before complying with the man's order. She released her Keyblade, which disappeared in a flash. Her supposed enemy did the same.

Yen Sid stepped in between the two. "Kairi," he began, "meet Lea. He will be fighting in the war with us."

Kairi blinked. "Lea?"

Said Keyblade wielder chuckled. "That's right, Lea." He looked pretty proud of himself, in fact.

Kairi looked clearly surprised.

"Trust me, you're not the first to make that mistake. Riku and I met a while ago and I still don't think he's gotten it memorized."

Riku, who had been letting Yen Sid and the King do all the talking for the most part, retorted to Lea, "Come on, give me a break!"

The two laughed, which appeared to ease Kairi's mood, but she was still incredibly confused. Did I miss something?, she thought.

Lea noticed, and said, "Axel used his whole 'being' to get rid of a bunch of Nobodies who were attacking Sora on his way to save you." Lea used 'being' in quotation marks. "Since both he and my Heartless were destroyed, as it went with Xehanort, I returned whole again, and here I am!"

Kairi's expression softened a bit- probably a good sign.

Lea explained, "Axel took you so that he could see Roxas. I am sorry, though. I guess I acted rashly."

Kairi sighed, knowing he meant well, but what should she say? She never know what to make of this redhead.

Riku seemed to read Kairi's mind, because next he said, "Axel helped Sora get to the Organization so that you and he could meet up again."

Kairi turned to Lea, who said, "That's right, I saved the boy's life." He smiled proudly, but Riku and Kairi could tell he was partly kidding.

Kairi giggled at that. Maybe, just maybe, he wasn't too bad after all. "Well," she joked, "I suppose I am ever in your debt for that. Anything I can do for you?" She said all this in a clearly humorous tone.

Lea replied, "Well, you could help me learn to use the Keyblade. That's why I'm here after all."

Kairi shrugged and smiled. "Absolutely," she said.

Lea gave his near trademark smirk as he stuck out his hand. "Friends?"

Kairi nodded, and took his gloved hand. "Friends."

* * *

Sora walked slowly through Twilight Town. He had been taking out any and all Heartless left and right with near startling ease. Unfortunately, without the Organization giving him more to take, as they did last time, and without enough of a challenge, Sora knew he was going nowhere with his own training.

Sora sighed. He had to do something for himself. If he was ever going to become a true Master, he would have to truly challenge himself.

But how?

Sora leaned against a wall on Market Street, thinking about what to do for a moment. He needed to push himself harder. Really become better. Prove what he could do.

Suddenly it came to him. A great idea. Sora knew just the world where he could show just how far he could go. He knew just the people to talk to, and exactly how to achieve his goals as best as possible.

Sora's resolve was clear. A clear grin of enthusiasm and wonder spread his face, as he had come up with his new plan.

Without a word, he summoned his Keyblade and pointed it to the sky.

This was perfect.

* * *

 **So, that's Chapter Two. This one was a little bit shorter than the first, but I'll see if I can make the next one around two-thousand words. I'll try to make most chapters relatively the same length, but I'll make some longer for important parts.**

 **To fans of Donald and Goofy, I do apologize for giving them little more than a name drop in this chapter. I don't intend to push them aside the whole story. They'll definitely appear more in the next chapter.**

 **Thank you all for reading. Make sure to review with any advice, constructive criticism, and thoughts you have. Thank you all.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi everyone. Sorry I haven't updated this story in a while. I've been busy for a few weeks, but here's the third chapter anyway. I'll be updating more often from now on. I hope you enjoy this chapter, which is a bit longer. Future chapters will be around this length. Happy reading!**

* * *

Sora entered through the massive golden-colored gates, and beheld the incredible sight before him. Two statues of warriors with swords stood in fighting positions on either side of the giant arena.

The Coliseum.

Any ordinary newcomer would have probably stood in awe for a good long time to take in the majestic view in front of them. but Sora, familiar with this godlike world, took it all in for only a moment, having been here several times before this one.

The Keyblade wielder strode up to the fantastic arena, which almost appeared as a temple, possibly to give any visitors a sense of higher power.

'Master Xehanort would love this world,' Sora thought. He certainly felt like a champion whenever he paid a visit.

The boy entered the lobby, and at perfect timing too. He heard a scraggly voice in the short distance counting, "One hundred and two! One hundred and three! One hundred and four! Come on, Herc! Is that all you got?"

Sora, certainly amazed just by the numbers, stepped in to the Coliseum, and saw a short pink satyr, whom he instantly recognized as Phil, grasped onto the legs of the muscle-bound Hercules, who only had one arm gripped tightly to a bar, suspended very high off the ground, as he was doing an astounding number of chin-ups. As if this didn't appear grueling enough, Hercules held a large weight in the other hand, as he tugged himself up to the bar with perfect form again and again. Sweat poured down the hero's red face as he pulled his chin up to the bar yet again. To the side sat a bottle of water and a towel.

"Come on, Herc! Give it what you've got! You call yourself a…" Phil turned his head as he spotted the boy at the entrance. "Hey, wait… Sora? His that you?"

"Hey Phil." Sora said cheerfully, giving a wave of his hand. He instantly realized the untimeliness of his visit, for if Hercules had seen, or even heard Sora make himself known, he certainly didn't show it. He continued his exercise with complete and total concentration.

Sora asked, "Sorry, did I come at a bad time?"

Phil shook his head and answered, "Nah- I think One hundred and eleven will be good for today." He let go of the hero's ankles and dropped to the ground before stepping out of the way.

Hercules recognized this and dropped to the ground. He picked up his towel and cleaned the sweat off of his face.

"All right Herc," Phil said. "Take a few minutes to rest your arms. Then you can get started on your running."

Hercules nodded, but didn't say anything. He took a sip from his water bottle as he caught his breath.

Phil turned and he and Sora went out to the lobby.

"So, what brings you here this time, old buddy? Looking to compete in the Games again?"

Sora shrugged and nodded thoughtfully. "Well, maybe."

Phil raised his eyebrows. "Really?"

Sora said, "I don't really know."

Phil asked him, "What do you mean? It's yes or no."

As pushy as Phil was being, Sora was still content to know he hadn't changed too much. "Well, I'm sort of busy with some other stuff at the moment. I actually just took my test to become a Keyblade Master."

Phil looked astounded at that. "That's awesome! Way to go, man!"

Sora answered, "Well, Riku and I both did, but only he passed."

"Oh," Phil said. "How come you didn't?"

Sora said, "Well, Riku had to go through an extra part that I didn't, and that's what got Yen Sid to make him a Master." Sora paused and thought about all this for a second. "And that got me thinking."

"Let me guess- you wish you were a Master too, don't you?" Phil asked.

The satyr definitely know Sora well. Sora responded, "Yeah, I guess. I mean, even Yen Sid said I deserved it, but Riku did earn it. He probably deserves it more than I do."

"So what's the problem, then?" Phil persisted.

'Now comes the tough question,' Sora thought. He asked, "What did Hercules have to do to become a hero?"

Phil seemed a bit taken aback by this. It came totally out of left field. He responded with a simple, "Huh?"

Sora explained, "Well, you mentioned that it took a lot to become a hero in this world."

Phil nodded at this.

Sora continued, "So what does it take? Like, what did Hercules have to do?"

Phil took a deep breath before saying, "Kid, being a hero is a lot more than simple training or exercise. You know that, don't you?"

The boy nodded as the two went over to the side of the lobby near a couple trophies to sit down.

Phil continued, "When Herc was training to become a champ, Meg was captured by Hades, and when Hercules saved her, he got the chance to become a god. But he refused, because he didn't want to have to leave Meg."

Sora took all of this in.

Phil said, "That's how I knew Herc was a real hero. It doesn't just come from working as hard as you can. Herc knew where he really wanted to be, and he was even willing to give up being a god to do that. Being a hero is about truly knowing that you want to get there. You don't just blindly follow your path. You know where you're going and what it means to you."

Sora nodded. "Wow."

Phil said "Yep."

Sora thought for a bit about all this. Perhaps he needed to think some more- and think before jumping into his plans.

Sora made up his mind.

He stood up and said, "Thanks, Phil."

"No problem, kid. Now- anything else you need? Maybe a round or two with Herc?"

Sora replied, "Nah, I think I'm good for today."

Phil persisted, "Come on, kid. I'm sure you've been doing a lot of training since I last saw you, and you went through that big test of yours. I wanna see if it did ya any good."

Sora chuckled. Phil could never take no for an answer. But then again, it would be fun to duel Hercules again. One round couldn't hurt him…

"Well," he started, "All right, sure! Let's do it!"

Phil smiled. That was more like it. "Great. One sec." He turned to the exit, "Herc! Come on back! We got a change in schedule!"

A few moments later, Herc walked back in.

Phil explained, "You're gonna duel Sora here now."

Herc, who had a lot more wind in him now, said, "Really? All right. It'll be fun to see how his progress has been coming along."

Phil said, "Good. All set, then. You ready now, Sora?"

Sora nodded.

"Great. Let's go in now."

The three walked into the main area of the Coliseum. Sora took a few deep breaths to calm himself.

They reached the middle of the area, and Hercules drew his sword. Sora summoned his Keyblade, and they assumed fighting positions.

Phil said, "All right, now I want a clean fight. No playing dirty, okay?"

Both Hercules and Sora nodded, and faced each other, ready to duel. They stood silent for a few moments, weapons at the ready. Then, Sora lunged at the hero. Hercules blocked it quickly, and easily pushed Sora off, sending him stumbling back a few steps.

The two strode toward toward each other. Sora kept his guard up, quickly realizing he couldn't win by strength. Hercules definitely exceeded him in muscle. Sora needed to find the hero's weakness to beat him.

Hercules attacked, and Sora parried as fast as he could, trying to keep Hercules at bay. He held his Keyblade out in front, instead of to his side, making sure to hold a good defense. Perhaps that could help.

Hercules lunged at him from above. Sora blocked the shot, and swung low. Hercules jumped back. Sora took this opportunity to swing at his side. Hercules just barely blocked this one, and Sora recognized a possible strategy.

He aimed high, and just as Hercules tried to block this attack, the Keyblade wielder managed to quickly hit his shoulder. This only stunned Hercules for a second, before their blades met again above their heads.

The two heroes jumped apart, keeping their guards up. Hercules definitely looked pleased with Sora's progress. However, just as they were about to go back into action, Heartless appeared all around them.

Phil was just as surprised as Hercules, but Sora was fairly used to this by now.

"Oh boy," exclaimed Phil. "This could be a problem."

The two turned away from each other to face their uninvited enemies. "All right, Sora. You ready for them?"

Sora answered confidently, "Yep. We can handle these guys."

Phil turned to exit the Coliseum. "Okay, you take 'em. I'll go make sure everyone on the mountain is safe." He ran out as the Keyblade wielder and the hero sprung at the Heartless. The pair handled them pretty easily. Hercules's strength and Sora's speed made for an easy fight with the Heartless. Sora was glad to fight alongside someone for the first time in a while. The fight was over in less than a minute.

As Sora took out the final one in the arena, Hercules said, "We'd better check outside."

Sora responded, "Right."

They ran out through the lobby, and to outside in the temple-like courtyard. As they burst through the doors, they were greeted by several Watchers and Guardians. Sora recognized their dangers quickly "Careful with these ones, Herc. Their beams can knock you down real easy."

"I'll keep that in mind," responded the Olympian.

Sora leaped into the air, taking one of the Watchers out quickly. Hercules punched one into another, and they disappeared in a flash. "This sure beats everyday training," he said. "I've almost missed this."

Sora laughed at that as he sent a ball of fire at one of their foes. "Here's a trick I learned a while ago." He grabbed one of the Watchers and pointed its beam at a few others.

Hercules said, "Nice one." He then leaped into the air, grabbing the final Heartless in the process, and brought it down with him, crashing it into the ground.

The two of them, finished with this group, put away their weapons and surveyed the area for any damage.

"Just a bit of dents to the walls, and some cracks to the ground. Nothing a day or two of repairing can't fix," observed Hercules.

Sora replied, "All right. We'll talk to Phil when he gets back."

"That's all right, Sora. I think he and I can handle this. You should head back home," Hercules answered.

"Are you sure?" Sora asked. "I'd be happy to help with all this."

Hercules shook his head and said, "No, it's fine. I'm sure you should go and be with your friends."

Sora was about to ask again, but almost immediately changed his mind. There was no sense in arguing when they both knew Hercules was right. Sora had to figure out his own questions. Plus, he had to get back to Riku and the King. They must have been wondering what he was up to. "You're right," he said. "They and I have some stuff of our own to deal with." He put his hands behind his head as he usually did and grinned. "You sure you'll be okay?"

"I'm sure. I'd better go find Phil and bring him on back. You take care, now."

Sora summoned back his Keyblade as he answered, "I will. See you later."

He pointed his Keyblade up to the sky. A keyhole-shaped portal appeared, surrounded by bright gold and white lights. Sora opened the portal, and it opened up to lead him back to Yen Sid's tower.

* * *

 **So that's the third chapter. If you enjoyed it, make sure to follow and review. Thanks for reading! Have a nice day.**


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